common
by raffinit
Summary: Joel and Ellie go back to Boston a few months into living at Tommy's town and discover some things they didn't know? idk i'm shitty at summaries but it's fluff and angst and stuff like that.
1. Chapter 1

**I post a majority of my tlou things on tumblr, and this is the current one I'm working on. I thought it'd be nice to have it documented here too. :F**

**_Joel and Ellie find out Tess is alive. Bonding tiems happen and angst and all hell breaks loose I think._**

* * *

They find out about Tess a few months into living with Tommy. Joel says he needs to head back to Boston to gather up some of his things; necessities and all that. Ellie of course, nominates herself to go with him - for shits and giggles and also because she doesn't really trust him to wander around alone. Joel also suspects that she's curious about his old life before their little adventure together, so he shrugs and tells her to get in the damn car and to quit messin' with his radio channels.

Tommy seems dubious, frowning as he watches his older brother toss a pack into the backseat. "You sure you wanna head back there, Joel?" he asks, and the undertone of it is clear to the grizzled man. The way Tommy's eyes go from the car to Ellie to him doesn't surprise Joel, but the man gives his brother a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I'll be fine, lil' brother," he murmurs lowly, mustering something like a half of a smile. There's a sadness in his eyes that makes Tommy wonder, but Joel's already pulling open the driver's door. "Ellie, what'd I tell you 'bout messin' with the radio -!"

_"Aw, I don't wanna listen to that country bullshit all the way!"_

"Well you're gonna, so deal with it."

* * *

Sneaking into the zone is a lot easier than it is sneaking out; especially if you're Joel because you know all the gaps and spots to hide and creep through without getting caught by the guards. It surprises him to see how lax the security's become - he'd thought for some reason, security would've doubled.

Not that he's complaining though.

Glancing behind him for the fifth time, Joel sighs as he chides the teenaged girl. "Hurry up now, quit draggin' your feet. You wanted to come."

"I didn't realize how much walking you'd make me do," Ellie grumbles, clambering over a piece of concrete.

Joel shakes his head at her, smirking in mock-disappointment. "Maria's been spoilin' you too much. You're gettin' lazy on me, baby girl." He chuckles under his breath when Ellie clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes at him, bending at the knee to hoist her over the ledge. "C'mon now; we're almost there. When we get to the buildin' you can sit around and moan 'bout your legs while I pack up."

Ellie scowls at him, stepping maybe a little harder than necessary onto his thigh as she reaches up to the edge. "I wasn't moaning," she mumbles petulantly, and Joel shakes his head indulgently as he pushes her up.

"Just get on up there and pull me up, would ya? Faster we do this, faster we can get back."

* * *

Seeing his apartment building again brings back all kinds of memories for Joel. Some good, some bad; some he never wants to think about again, but he can't help it as he walks down the hallway he's walked so many times before and faces the paint-chipped door he's opened too many times to count. It takes him a moment to gather himself at the sight, and Joel exhales heavily as he reaches out, palming the familiar wood under his hand as he swallows the well of emotions caught in his throat.

Ellie peers up at his face from beside him, biting her lip uncertainly as she watches the man stand silently there for the longest time. She wants to reach out and ask him if he's okay, but something inside her holds back until Joel straightens, the wall is built back up behind his eyes, but she doubts the sturdiness of it.

"Here we go," she hears him murmur, and she's not sure if he's saying it to himself or to her as he pushes the key into the lock and turns it. Like an obedient though sometimes rebellious puppy, Ellie follows him into the apartment.

"_You make another goddamn move and I'll blow your fucking brains out where you stand."_

There's a chill that runs up his spine as Joel freezes in place; his eyes widen slowly as he registers the voice, registers the presence of another person in his apartment - registers the fact that the person speaking should be _dead_. His chest clenches at the sight of the woman standing not three feet from him, holding a gun aimed to his head, steady as always.

His jaw drops, his heart clots in his throat at the sight of the pale skin, the dark hair - the healing bite mark on her shoulder. "T-Tess…?"

The woman falters, her own dark eyes widening in disbelief and uncertainty as the gun lowers from her grip. "Joel?" Her eyes dart to Ellie, where the girl stands a little behind the man, staring up at her in shock too. Her mind whirls at the sight of them; months of wondering if they'd made it, if they were still alive - if it hadn't been for nothing…

They're alive. They're alive and safe.

Joel -.

"You're alive!" Suddenly there's a fourteen year old wrapped around her middle, hugging her tight and pressing her face into Tess' shirt. Ellie babbles off about missing her, about how she could possibly be alive and how they'd traveled across the states to Tommy's compound and that they're living there now and HOW COULD SHE BE ALIVE?

At a loss for words, Tess simply hugs her back, staring over Ellie's head at the man still staring at her like he's seen a ghost.

As far as he's concerned, he's still looking at one.

Finally Ellie gets a hold on herself and releases Tess, stepping back to watch as Joel seems to mouth the words that won't come from his throat. She watches anxiously, eagerly for a reaction; she's not sure if it'll be angry or sad or happy, but Ellie's never felt happier for Joel.

He hasn't lost them all.

Her eyes search his face, her shoulders sag with such relief it hurts him, and she drops the gun like it's on fire as she steps to the man uncertainly. She stops but a hair's breadth away from him, feeling the heat of his body, feeling the gust of his breath as she stares up at his face. She lets him reach out to her, nervously, uncertainly - lets him touch her face and cup her cheek with his weathered hands and twirl the tendrils of her dark hair around his fingers like he used to.

"Tess…" Her eyes fall shut despite herself at the sound of her name on his lips again, and she finds herself leaning into his touch when his hand cups her cheek again. His thumb brushes over the healed scar on her cheek, and she can't help but let her mouth quiver into a smile as she reaches up, wrapping her thin fingers around his wrist.

"Tex…" she whispers, and it comes almost lovingly from her lips. Something snaps in him; all pretense of decorum gone as he pulls her to him in a frenzied kiss. Joel grips at her arms, crushing her to his body as if he's terrified of her disappearing if he lets her go, and the man nearly collapses with relief when he feels her hands burrow into his hair and tug - like she always used to.

Something wet touches their lips - they can't tell if it's her tears or his, but there are tears and there's nothing that they can do to stop it. Months, almost a goddamn year of him coming to terms with her death, of her coming to terms with being alone all over again - months and months of nightmares and thoughts and thoughts of nothing but darkness, it bleeds away with the salty trail of their tears.

When he pulls away from her, it's mostly because he needs to breathe, and together they stand there; wordlessly breathing, passing air back and forth to each other as he holds her head in his hands still, as he stares into her face to memorize the contours of her cheeks, her jaw, her nose.

Ellie clears her throat quietly, unobtrusively, and finally Tess pulls away, cupping his cheek, brushing her thumb through the bristly growth before she steps away. She licks her lips, tastes him on her tongue. The moment is gone, back in her eyes is the shield, though it's soft. "Took you long enough, Tex. Thought you'd died out there on the other side." She spares him a careful once over, her eyes narrowing in fond surprise. "You put on some pounds there, Joel. Gettin' soft on me?"

"Just makin' up for the ones you lost," he breathes, and he sees the changes in her body, in her demeanor. She's lost weight she couldn't afford to, it makes her look that much taller; that much more lankier, and he doesn't like it. It makes her cheekbones stick out that much more, and he's worried it'll make her look more like a skeleton than a human being in the wrong kind of light.

He still can't process how she's standing in front of them here; night after night, he's been seeing her body as the last he saw it - battered and broken and bleeding out into a pool on the floor, next to Sarah. That's another woman he cared about dead, and it's hard to believe she's really here.

"How - how are you here?" The words catch in his throat, he moves forward towards her as she shifts nervously by the counter. His eyes blaze for an answer, not upset or displeased, but more curious in a way that makes her realize that he needs this. He needs to know. "How are you alive?"

Tess glances off at Ellie, where the girl stares up at her about as anxious as Joel is for an answer. She licks her lips nervously, puffing out a breath. "Fireflies got to me," she tells them, and Joel and Ellie both gape. "Turns out Marlene sent out a group of 'em to come after us at the Capitol; y'know - insurance and whatnot. They thought if they kept me alive, they could use me as a guarantee or something about you gettin' the job done." She doesn't miss the way Joel shifts at the mention of the woman's name, but she keeps it aside for later. She crosses her hands in front of her, leaning her hip against the counter as she reaches out to touch her bite mark almost self-consciously.

"I lost a lot of blood from the gunshots." The words are quiet from the woman; Joel's face morphs into a pained mask at the memory of seeing Tess lying there - helpless and hopeless at helping her. He could've stayed, he could've fought. "Turns out though that the spores bled out when I should've." There's a twitch at Tess' mouth, the smirk he's come to miss so badly in the nights alone. "They bled out the bad blood in me and fixed me up with a transfusion; I'm not immune, but I'm not infected either."

"Holy shit…." This time it's Ellie who's reacting; Joel isn't sure if he wants to kiss her again or pinch himself hard because this must be a dream of some sort. The girl steps forward then, whirling to Joel excitedly. "Joel, we could take her home with us! We could take her back to Tommy's!" It's such a brilliant idea in the girl's head - now Joel can be happy! He can settle down and be happy and maybe he'll stop fussing about her wandering off with Tommy's men to go hunting.

Tess frowns at them, folding her arms defensively as she watches Joel's face for an explanation. "I thought you and Tommy weren't talking anymore." It's almost accusing with the way her eyes focus sharply on him - he wonders if she doesn't think he's joined the Fireflies.

Ellie's almost too eager to divulge the information to her. "They've got a compound in Wyoming! They've got horses and dogs and all kinds of cool stuff!" Maybe if Tess comes with them, she can ride out with her on the horses, hang out together. Being around so many men can be irritating to a girl her age. Although she's not certain if she'll have anything more in common with Tess.

One can hope.

In one last ditch attempt, Ellie turns her wide doe eyes to the woman, staring pleadingly up at her. "Please, Tess, come back with us? Please? It's better than this shithole." She gestures openly to the apartment, and Joel has the sense to grunt defensively that it's been months since he's been around - of course the place looks like a dump.

Tess rolls her eyes at the girl. "Christ, kid, I'm not some stray puppy you found off the streets - you can't just pick me up and bring me home whenever you life." She purses her lips, eyeing Ellie for a long moment before glancing to Joel. "This is my home," she utters flatly, straightening off the counter. Ellie doesn't think it wise to mention that her 'home' is actually Joel's apartment, but the teen casts a suspicious look between the adults. "I came here as soon as they patched me up - settled down and made base here for God knows why." She shakes her head, scoffing quietly at herself. "Guess you could say I was waitin' out on you guys."

Her eyes find Joel's. "Guess I was waitin' for you to bring your ass home, Tex." The weighted words linger between them like a tangible object; things have changed in the months. They've changed.

Finally Joel finds his voice, and it feels like eternity before he manages to croak out the words. "Come back with us, Tess. This place - this place ain't home no more." He looks around; he's surprised to see everything practically untouched. She's left the apartment exactly as he had all those months back. The only difference is the whiskey bottle is gone and there's a substantial amount of weapons lying on his coffee table. For some reason, he can't stand the idea of Tess sitting around his apartment alone, drinking until she can't see; loading and cleaning her guns and her knives before keeping watch for him.

Waiting for him, and he never comes.

His throat constricts, and he asks her one more time, with every fibre of his being. "Come back with me, Tess."

She looks torn for a moment, so secure she is with her routine; she doesn't like change any more than he does, and leaving his apartment is change. She's comfortable now - going with them makes her an outsider, a newbie with no real purpose or position other than 'Joel's partner whom he thought was dead'.

But she can't say no.

And she doesn't.

* * *

**ENTER THE LAND OF OOC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wheeee angst**

* * *

The ride back to Tommy's is a mixture of awkward silences and excitable teenage chattering from the backseat. Tess sits shotgun, smiling crookedly every so often as she watches Joel nag on Ellie about littering in the car. It's later in the night; Ellie passes out in the backseat eventually, and the two are left to their own devices. At first it's nothing but the quiet sound of the engine and the wheels on gravel, and the sound of their breathing in the space, before Tess gets restless in the silence.

"So uh…" she begins, glancing at Joel before she gestures to the sleeping girl. "Did they ever find the cure out of her?" It's the safest thing to ask right now; all Tess wants to know is how they've been and how they're safe, and a selfish part of her wants to know if he's thought about her as much as she's thought about him.

It's stupid, really. She's a big girl and she's used to being alone, but she's been around Joel for a long time too. They've been partners for too long - she's begun to rely on him to be there, and she starts to hate herself for not getting over him in those months. Joel's a hard guy to get out of your head when he's settled into your space. She spent all of her days and nights with the man, for Christ's sake. Shared guns and ammo, shared food and drink, shared a goddamn bed too sometimes - she can't help but linger.

He glances at her briefly, one hand steering as the other drapes across the back of the passenger seat. His fingers are close enough to disturb the fine hairs on the back of her neck, and Tess shifts about in her seat; half irritated and the other half uncomfortable. "I'll tell you more 'bout it later," he assures her quietly. He clears his throat softly, darting a look back at the sleeping girl before decides the coast is clear enough to make small talk. "Meanwhile uh…how've you been?" He pulls his hand back, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly when Tess raises an eyebrow at him.

What the hell - he's forgotten how to talk to Tess, for crying out loud.

" I mean," he tries again "How've you been keepin' and everythin'? You got skinny. Skinnier than before." He gives her a sidelong glance, frowning out of the corner of his mouth at the way her collarbone stick out under her skin. "Can't be relyin' on me to remind you what and when to eat, Tess."

"Bite me," she grouses, and Joel chuffs.

"Can't - ain't got no meat on you." He's openly smirking now. Riling Tess up is a forgotten hobby he's starting to take pleasure in again. "Might as well be chewin' on a rawhide bone."

Tess slumps back into her seat, folding her arms almost petulantly as she scowls at him. "Don't remember you mouthin' off at me like this before." Her eyes move to the rearview mirror - staring intently at the backseat. "Guess she rubbed off on you along the way, huh."

The comfortable atmosphere is gone in a blink; Tess almost hates herself for the way the easy look on Joel's face sags away into the hard frown she's used to seeing. She wonders what she's missed. "There's somethin' you're not tellin' me, Joel." Her eyes narrow dangerously this time - she's back to being mean ol' Tess; the one that gives him orders and rags on him at every chance she gets.

She still hasn't forgiven him for not telling her about the time he'd stepped on a nail bomb and limped around with her for three hours after. She'd thought the bloody footprints came from something he'd stepped on.

Dressing his wounds that time had given her such sweet payback. Alcohol really gets at tender flesh.

Joel exhales through his nose, and when he looks away, it's guiltily. Of course Tess knows - she's like a goddamn bloodhound when it comes to him. Hell, one time she even knew when he was holding in a fart. "I'll tell you later," he mumbles, glancing sharply into the backseat and then holding Tess' gaze firmly. "We gotta pull over for a gas refill anyway."

Tess' lips thin and her eyes are suspicious still, but she thrusts her chin out at an approaching highway sign. "There's a station coming up."

* * *

It's an abandoned gas station off the highway; filled with abandoned cars and overgrown weed and little else. The gas is gone and the quik-e mart has been looted clean for about ten years, but Joel just needs someplace to pull over to fill up. They've got their own stash of gas, and he doesn't dawdle with re-filling the car. Abandoned or not, they're out in the open and they're vulnerable, and he doesn't like it.

Tess leans against the car, watching Joel work when Ellie's head pops up from the backseat window, just narrowly missing Tess with a headbutt. The girl yawns widely, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she peers drowsily out at the man and woman. As hard as she fights it, Tess can't help but smile.

She's forgotten how young the girl actually is.

"Where're we?" she garbles, but Joel's already waving her back to sleep.

"Just stoppin' to fill up, baby girl," he tells her quietly, grunting as he unhinges the gas socket. "Go back to sleep."

Tess ruffles the girl's hair, her eyes are uncharacteristically soft as she watches Ellie curl back into the backseat, wrapped around one of Joel's coats. Her eyes are open though, sleepy and most likely unfocused, but Ellie's eyes stare up at Tess through the darkness, and Tess gets a little uncomfortable.

"You heard the old man; get some shut eye," she murmurs quietly, and Ellie sighs as she sags into sleep. It's a distraction to watch the girl sleep for a little while - it gives her some time to get her shit together and to prepare herself for whatever Joel's about to tell her. From the corner of her eye she sees her gun sitting in the passenger's seat, and is a little disappointed that it's out of reach.

Joel for the most part, is glad she's unarmed when he tells her. They're standing around in the dark, hands in their pockets, scuffing their shoes awkwardly while they wait for the gas to fill up. With a breath, he decides to rip off the bandaid quick and easy. "We uh…we found the Fireflies down in Utah. Salt Lake City side."

Tess nods; that's her only reaction. She knows there's more, and he hates that about her at times like this. It doesn't make it any easier for him to get the words out. "They ah…they wanted to prep Ellie for surgery. Y'know - to get to the spores in her brain. They grow out from the brainstem and -."

Her short fuse gives out. "Joel. What'd you do?" she demands, unfolding her arms and taking a step towards the man. He frowns back at her as she glares at him expectantly, very glad that she has nothing on her to kill him with.

She has a mean right hook though, but he figures he can wrestle her to the ground if she tries it.

"…I couldn't let 'em do it. I just couldn't. I couldn't let her die."

Tess can't believe what she's hearing. "Are you fucking telling me you stopped them? For Christ's sake, Joel! That was the whole reason you got her out there!" _That's the whole goddamn reason I almost fucking **died **for you!_

"I didn't think they'd kill her for the cure!" he counters defensively, though he makes sure to keep his voice in a low gravel. "And keep your damn voice down before you wake her -!"

He sees the slap coming, but he doesn't stop it - maybe he thinks he deserves it. He doesn't really think that, but it gives Tess something to do other than yell at him. He stumbles against the car, snatching Tess' hand out of the air when she raises it again, most likely punch him this time. Pulling her to him, he pins her hands to her side, glaring down at her as she wriggles like a wildcat in his grasp.

"Quit writhin' around before you hurt yourself!" he snaps at her, and Tess' eyes blaze back at him as she snatches her hands out of his grip and shoves at his chest. Righteous indignation fills him, riles up in his chest as he watches her shake her head disbelievingly at him. "I wouldn't have done it if I'd know they were gonna kill 'er for it! I thought it was just - just a damn blood sample or somethin'!"

"God damn it, Joel!" There's a strain in her voice, a desperate flash of something in her eyes. His cheek burns where she's hit him, and he won't be surprised to find the mark of her fingers on his face later. "She could've been the one to stop this stupid fucking infection! They could've had a cure!"

"She could've been the one to change it all, Joel!"

Just as quickly as she'd gotten mad, the anger dissipates from her too; Tess is suddenly tired and in no mood to yell at him. What's the point? It's over, it's done with - there's no cure and there're no soldiers hunting them. There's no point to it. "Damn it, Joel." She sounds both pained and exasperated when she looks up at him, and he sees the gleam in her eyes of tears unshed as she heaves a heavy breath to calm herself.

She's not crying because she's sad - she's got tears in her eyes from keeping the anger at bay. It's a reaction to not being able to put a bullet through his head because he's Joel, and also because she doesn't have her gun with her.

He's almost tempted to reach out to her, to hold her and explain why, but when she looks back at him, there's the old Tess; fiery and fierce and unforgivingly sturdy. "Forget it," she tells him brusquely, and she's pulling the car door open before he can respond. "Just get in the goddamn car."

* * *

She doesn't speak to him until they're a little outside Indiana somewhere, and it's only to tell him she'll take the next shift to drive. They've stopped for a spell, to spend a couple of hours asleep and for a bathroom break that Ellie's been whining for after she finished the last of the power bar Tess gives her to gnaw on when she complains about hunger. He's surprised how well Ellie's taken to Tess; it's a lot better than how he took to the girl at first, actually.

He doesn't let himself linger about what kind of a mother Tess could be, or why the thought is even there in the first place as he moves over into the passenger's seat and let's Tess take his place in the driver's. He watches as she puts the car into drive, eyeing her dubiously. "You remember how to drive, don't you?" He asks mostly out of necessity; he wants something to say to her other than a one-syllable response, and he's also genuinely worried and curious about Tess' driving skills.

Tess shrugs, and the car rolls forward obediently. "S'like ridin' a bike, right? You don't forget."

Ellie pops up between them, watching Tess curiously. "You've ridden a bike before?" she marvels, as Tess shrugs her shoulders.

"Sure," she answers casually. "Used to ride one every day to school."

"I've never ridden a bike."

Joel scoffs at Ellie incredulously. "You know how to shoot a rifle and how to ride a damn horse, but you don't know how to_ ride a bike_?"

The girl frowns self-consciously, shoving at the man's shoulder. "S'not like I've had any reason to know how," she tells him, and he realizes that he's talking to a girl that still can't whistle right or swim.

"Well, maybe if we happen on a bike along the way, I can teach you," Tess says absently, and if she notices the way Joel and Ellie are looking at her, she doesn't show it. "Where do I turn off?"


	3. Chapter 3

**You will be able to tell by the end of this fic that it tapers off to half-assed by the end of the secon last chapter.**

* * *

It's another day or so before they get to Wyoming; Tess is asleep in the passenger's seat when the town comes into view. She's curled up against the window, even breaths fogging the glass as she twitches and kicks in her sleep. Restless nights are a given in their lives - Joel remembers waking to bruises some mornings when Tess shares his bed. Usually it's on particularly cold or lonely nights that he finds her beside him, naked skin pressed against each other and warmth radiating underneath the thin and scratchy covers.

Ellie's leaning over the driver's seat as he pulls the car into the driveway of their makeshift home, whispering to avoid waking the woman. "Is she having a nightmare?" she asks worriedly; frowning at the way Tess squirms and whimpers every once and awhile. She's seen Joel go through nightmares - she's had her own fair share of them too, but something about the way Tess dreams makes her feel…sad.

"She'll be alright," Joel says, and it's enough of a dismissal for Ellie to busy herself with getting her things together and getting out of the car. Gently, he reaches for Tess' shoulder, grasping the bony joint in his hand firmly enough to shake her slightly. "Tess. Tess, come on, sweetheart, you gotta get up now."

She fights waking, as she is sometimes wont to do. When he's not yelling at her to get the fuck up or when there's no sound of gunshots going off, Tess appreciates her right to sleep in, and Joel has seen her temper tantrums when he wakes her unnecessarily. He fights a smile despite himself when she grumbles at him in her sleep, and shakes her firmer.

"Come on, sleepyhead, s'time to rise and shine," he cajoles her lowly, and he can't help himself to tuck the fallen strands of dark hair behind her ear.

Eventually she gives in, glaring at him as soon as her eyes are open and clear, and Joel simply chuckles at her. "We're here," he says, and watches as she stifles a yawn and stretches. Mostly he's watching the swell of her breasts as she stretches her arms over her head and arches her back to realign her spine from a shitty sleep, but she's too tired to slap him upside the head when he gives her a playful leer.

"S'about time," she mumbles, scowling as she massages away the crick in her neck. The bite mark on her shoulder tingles numbly, but Tess doesn't go anywhere near it. Out of sight, out of mind, and if it wants attention, it can go fuck itself.

Ellie's tapping excitedly at her window, waving and grinning at her through the window, and Tess groans as she stumbles out of the car. "Are you always this happy in the morning, kid? Because that's going to be an issue between the two of us -."

She's grabbed by the hand before she can finish the thought, and Tess finds herself being dragged around the car up to the front yard of a small and modest house. "It's not much, but it sure as hell beats Boston," Ellie's saying to her, grinning sheepishly then as the woman continues to gape at the sight of an undamaged house with what seems to be running electricity, if the porch light is anything to judge by.

"Ellie." Joel appears beside them; a backpack in both hands and one on his shoulder. "Go on and get the door open." The girl doesn't need to be told twice, and he's left with Tess on the front yard. He meets Tess' stunned gaze with a warm one of his own, and a shy smile around his mouth. "Welcome home, Tess."

"H-home?" This must be a dream.

Joel tilts his head thoughtfully. "Well, y'know what they say - home is where the heart is an' all that." He shifts the bags in his grip, smirking slightly. "I'd offer to carry ya over the threshold or somethin', but I'm a little preoccupied."

It's enough to get her out of her stupor, and Tess glares at him through the pink in her cheeks at the thought before she's being tackled to the ground by something huge and furry.

_"Ellie, I thought I told you to put him out back!"_

* * *

The dog's name is Bear.

Tommy had given him to Ellie as a birthday present, much to Joel's dismay, but he couldn't deprive the girl of the huge dog even though Bear's chewed through one of his only pairs of shoes. They don't know what breed he is really, but by Joel's best guess he's something along the lines of a shepherd dog and a big bully breed.

Bully doesn't even begin to define the dog though; Tess has never seen a dog so affectionate and silly. He doesn't leave her side until Joel hauls him away by the collar, all but throwing the dog into the backyard as Tess laughs at him. "Ellie!" Joel calls, wrestling Bear as the dog weaves between his legs to get back to Tess, tail a blur. "Damn it, Bear, get on outside! Get! Go on now!"

"Aw Joel, he just wants to play." Ellie appears from down the hall, looping her hand into the dog's collar and rubbing his fur affectionately as Bear licks at her fingers. She grins at Tess, puffing out her chest proudly as the woman eyes her in amusement. "I trained him all by myself! He even knows how to belly crawl!"

"Alright, enough already," Joel cuts in, nudging the girl away with the dog. "It's late - get to bed, the both of ya. Go on!" He jabs Ellie in the side, and the girl squeaks as she moves away, returning only to press a sweet kiss to Joel's grizzled cheek before waving a goodnight to Tess as she goes.

"Come on, boy! Let's go upstairs!" She taps her thigh and goes jogging up the stairs, all to Bear's eager barks and thundering steps behind her.

Tess chuckles as she watches them go, folding her arms as Joel shakes his head indulgently at the girl and wipes at his cheek in mock-disgust. "Didn't take you for a dog kinda guy," she remarks, trailing after the man as he too makes his way up the stairs. "Then again; never saw you as a cat guy either."

Joel grunts a scoff, peering at her over his shoulder when he hears her giggling under her breath - most likely at some image she's conjured with him surrounded by twenty cats. His mouth twitches as he reaches the landing of the second floor. "When's the last time you had a bubble bath?"

* * *

She can't remember the last time her skin's touched hot water. The memories probably span down to her childhood; hot bubble baths drawn by her mother on cold winter nights or hot showers after hours of rolling down snowy hills with her father. She remembers wrinkly fingers and toes and shark fin hair, easier times, happier times.

Before everything went to hell.

The humid steam caresses her face almost as soon as she steps into the bathroom; nearly too warm to be comfortable and too thick to breathe right, but Tess finds herself startlingly calm in the old bathroom. Joel's kneeling by the side of the tub with one hand under the running water, hissing once or twice as his other hand busies with the metal knobs. It's suddenly all foreign to her - something as simple and normal as a bath makes her wary.

But there's no reason for her fears at the moment.

Not with Joel around.

"There we go," the man announces, straightening to his feet with a little more effort than he'd like. Turning to Tess with a triumphant huff, he gestures grandly to the tub filled with steaming water. "Care for a dip?"

Tess feels her mouth pulling in a corner, unable to resist smiling at the beaming way Joel's standing there; like he's just revealed the best thing since automatic rifles. As much as she'd like to tease Joel about his overly male need to 'provide for his women', the temptation of the warm water is too much to resist. She strips where she stands, unashamed and unfazed at the way Joel's eyes rake over her pale body like she's the first naked woman he's seen since they were last together.

(She probably is, come to think about it.)

Self-consciously she cups her scar in her hand, turning quickly to avoid giving Joel time to really get a good look at it. Nervously her eyes meet his, and when she licks the corner of her lip anxiously, the man just gives her an understanding nod.

She exhales. _Okay. Okay, we can do this. This is Joel; just good ol' Joel._

Steeling over, Tess glances at him coyly. "You plan on joinin' me, Tex, or are you going to stand there slobberin' over me like Bear?" she drawls, smirking as she sinks one foot into the water first, followed swiftly by her other foot when she decides that the water's just right. She sighs heavily when she sinks into the water, moaning in the back of her throat when she's hunkered down and shoulder deep in the water. Bending her knees, Tess lets herself sink deeper into the steaming water, opening her eyes languidly to find Joel still standing beside the tub, staring wordlessly.

She smirks again, lifting one long pale leg out of the water, cocking a brow suggestively when Joel visibly chokes at the way the water runs off her calf. "Did you need an engraved invitation?"

Joel blinks, shaking his head slightly. "Huh?" He doesn't remember Tess having such long legs. Then again; shitty lighting once gave her a mustache. He couldn't get it back up that night from laughing so hard.

Tess wasn't happy about it, but he paid his dues.

Multiple times over.

"Joel!" The sharp utterance of his name bounces off the acoustic walls of the bathroom, and Joel jolts out of his reverie, mumbling an apology while peeling away his shirt obediently. Tess watches both amused and intrigued as he struggles out of his jeans, leering at him appreciatively when he straightens - naked as the day he was born, with maybe a touch more hair.

"There we go," she purrs, and leans forward readily when he steps into the tub. She scoots forward as he sinks down, and the water overflows a little with the added body mass. She reaches down to lets the water run till it's just right again, all the while to Joel's sneaky fingers tracing circles along the skin of her back. She shudders as the wet trails cool on her skin, leaning back into Joel's broad chest when his muscular arms come banding around her middle and pulling her to him.

She feels the rumble in his chest before she hears it, and Tess can't help but laugh at the way he cups the water in his hands, pouring the water over her skin, trickling it over her shoulders and neck; over her breasts. She wriggles between his legs, grinning evilly when she feel something twitch against her back, flashing Joel a toothy grin that's more a feral marking of her territory than a smile.

"Seems like you missed me, huh Texas?" she teases him, squirming when the arm banded around her stomach squeezes in tighter, and his fingers graze her side in a warning. "Hey watch those fingers if you don't wanna lose 'em."

"I don't think you're in any position to threaten me, sweetheart," Joel drawls smugly, skimming the tips of his fingers along the underside of her breast, smirking when he hears the hitch in her breath. He leans into her ear, chuckling huskily as Tess shivers at the warmth of his breath against her skin. "Seems like you missed me too, don't you, Tess." His voice dips low into a whisper; his free hand is now sliding along the skin of her thigh, fingers stroking and massaging beneath the water, hitting the sensitive nerve along her inner thigh that has her jolting breathlessly.

She smothers a moan, wriggling away from his wandering hand long enough to glare at the man. "You're playing dirty, you dirty old man."

Joel chuckles, grabbing a bar of soap from the little dip in the wall, lathering the white bar in his hands before nudging Tess forward to get at her shoulders and back. "You're one to talk, you dirty minx," he ripostes, dipping his thumbs into a particularly stiff knot in her shoulders that has Tess hissing. "And I ain't old."

"Keep tellin' yourself that," she murmurs, but it's half hearted as she arches into his strong grip, flexing her hands over his thighs as he digs in harder. "Mmmm, a girl could get used to this," she hums, stroking her hand idly along his thigh, feeling the rough scrape of his hair and the dip of old scars.

Something twitches again, and there's a growl from behind her.

When he's done counting to ten, Joel gives her shoulders a warning squeeze. "I just cleaned you up; you're gonna get dirty again if you keep playin' with fire like that."

She glances over her shoulder at him, fluttering her eyelashes innocently. "You'd help me clean up though, won't you Tex? After all, it's gonna be your mess."

Joel lets out a long, pained groan, but it's not like he's putting up a fight when Tess is suddenly facing him and straddling his legs between hers. "Just - try not to scream the house down, will ya? Ellie's down the hall."

* * *

**Bow chicka.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings for sexy times and angst.**

* * *

She presses her mouth to his with a surprising amount of gentleness; almost tender as she cups his face in her hands and deepens the kiss. His hands find her hips instinctively - it's no surprise to anyone that Tess likes being on top -, and the man pulls her down into his lap as her tongue lashes across his lower lip before she's got it between her teeth.

Tenderness gone - Tess back in play.

He's not one to sit idle - he can't possibly with the way Tess is rolling her hips against him. Christ, he forgets how dominating she can be; and how much muscle control she has in the lower extremities of her body. He grunts into her mouth when her hand slips between them, pulling his mouth from hers to suck in a breath and to grasp at her hand. He fumbles for a breath, glaring mildly at the way Tess curls her hand into the hair at the back of his head, twirling his thick hair around her fingers guiltlessly.

"Careful now," he warns her gruffly, manhandling her back around until he's pressed into the warm plane of her back. "Wouldn't want the party to end before it's really started, do ya?"

Tess snorts, arching her back into him and wriggling backwards eagerly as his hands come up to cup her breasts. "You startin' to feel your age there, Joel?" she quips dryly, jolting when he pinches a nipple punishingly. She bares her teeth and hisses, but there is no retribution from her when his fingers circle the tender skin.

"Ain't nothin' old about me, sweetheart, I guarantee you." His beard tickles against her shoulder, his mouth presses promising kisses along her skin; from the back of her ear, down to her jaw, lingering longest on the scar that's mostly healed where her neck and shoulder meet. She stiffens in his hold, but he soothes her gently with his hands. "S'alright, s'okay. It's just another battle scar, right? Just another shitstorm you got through."

She hates that she can't breathe right; hates how her throat clogs and how she can't see right through the tears in her eyes. She hates Joel for being Joel - for being such a great fucking guy that she sometimes wants to kick in the head and cuddle in bed at other times. That's always been a trait she finds infuriating in him; she knows he's got a temper like she does, knows he can be a complete dick when he wants to be, but that's the thing, right? He chooses not to be. Joel's the quiet guy, the deep guy from the South made of little words and big actions and a lot of beard.

Good guy Joel; won't say nothin' against ya, but he'll pump you full of lead.

She hates how much he knows her, trusts her, accepts her fuck-ups and flaws like everything's okay and it's no big deal that she walks around killing people for a living, or that she almost turned into a mindless walking disease. She'd convinced herself he wasn't coming back to Boston; she was so sure he'd found someplace better to settle - found a pretty little thing to settle down with and didn't look back. Not once did she ever entertain the idea of him dying - Joel's just too damn stubborn to die, but she was so sure he'd finally opened his eyes to better choices, better things than living in that shithole of an apartment with her and blasting people's heads in for a living.

She's been expecting it from him since they became partners.

But damn it all to hell - _Joel came back. Joel __came back and he's settling with **her**._

Things happen a lot faster than she anticipates them; she's so busy trying to make sense of her brain that she completely blanks out when he's inside her suddenly - one hand palming her breast possessively and his teeth marking her skin on her unmarked shoulder. She has to grip the sides of the bathtub to keep from gasping out loud; swallowing her moans and leaning back into Joel's flexing hips.

It doesn't occur to her how much she's missed him - just how much he's been her entire life for a good decade or so, or how much she's needed to feel him next to her again. She forgets how good he is with his hands, his mouth, his body in general; how quickly he can go from brutal killer to gentle lover or to the rough and tumble that she likes best when her head's swimming in the whiskey or tequila.

This time around, he's gentle but urgent; he pays such a close attention to her body it makes her see spots. It's like he's memorizing her body, taking her in, programming her into his senses to keep locked away forever.

She grips the tub so tight her knuckle white-out, but Joel takes the stone grip into his own hands, braves them as he whispers sweet nothings into her ear, coaxing her further, pushing her as far as she can go. It's maybe not as gentlemanly, but he comes first with the sigh of her name on his lips; he makes sure she follows suit immediately if not sooner.

When the first waves of pleasure hit her, the dam breaks loose, and Tess is mortified with herself when the tears start to fall and the sobs come through. He wraps himself around her like a physical barrier against everything else; a barrier to the world they live in and to all things that can hurt her, rocking her gently as she sniffles and sobs and presses her mouth to his arm to keep them from coming through.

"God damn you, Joel, god fucking _damn_ you," it's a miserable quivering whimper, but he presses his mouth to the side of her face, murmurs in his low quiet voice soothingly as she pulls his arms tighter around her shoulders.

He lets her bite him hard enough to bruise and he takes it with nothing but a flinch and more sweet nothings, because he knows Tess needs it. She needs to hurt him or she's gonna figure out a way to hurt herself along the way. His own heart is pounding in his chest and it's got nothing to do with the sex, but it's got everything to do with her.

Tess.

Goddamn _Tess._

Living, breathing, crying Tess in his arms. Sitting in the cooling water with him and getting wrinkly fingers and toes with him as her tears mingle into the water around them. Tess he's had nightmares about watching die; about failing her just the same as he did Sarah - about wishing it was him all over again.

Tess who has been alone all this while; Tess who made camp in his old apartment and watched and waited for him to come back, to find out if he's alive and okay and better off somewhere.

His partner Tess.

_His _Tess.

Very suddenly it's hard for him to breathe as well.

* * *

He takes her to bed again that night.

They both know there's a difference with this time and all the other times; they feel it in their bones and in the way they take their time - the way Tess actually lets him take the lead all the way and actually feels damn good about it too. The way he hovers over her like a big warm dream, caressing her face, touching her hair, kissing her lips, her cheek, her jaw; making her feel everything he can't say out loud because he's too fucking afraid to.

The way he presses himself to her, chest to chest, hip to hip, like he can't get near enough to her. He can't get enough of her. The way she whimpers and keens and gasps into his shoulder; sinks her nails into his back and pulls him to her so desperately when she comes. The way she stutters his name - it's all over for him then.

He holds her in his arms like he's afraid she'll disappear if he lets her go, and Tess seems to have similar thoughts; she's pressed into his side, wrapped into his arms and locking her leg into his like an anchor. Like she's afraid she'll wake up and he won't be there, and this will be some sick and twist dream she's conjured up after finishing the whiskey again.

For the first time in months, they sleep through the night. No nightmares, no screaming in the dark.

Just them.

Just Joel and Tess.

* * *

**So, here is the question. End it here, or get the full half-assed rest of the two chapters I'm ashamed to post because my brain was far more interested in crying from the TLOU documentary and listening to Troy Baker sing?**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's been bugging me that I posted it here half-complete, so I figured half-assed or not, I'm gonna put it all the way.**

* * *

She's surprised in the morning when she's the first one awake. Between the two of them, Joel's the early riser; the one that likes to watch the sun rise and likes company while he does it. He's a light sleeper mostly, as light as he needs to be when they're out on a run, but sometimes she forgets that he can snore loud enough to startle runners from down the street if he wanted to.

Honestly she doesn't want to get out of bed (or leave his side ever but those thoughts are personal and for her mind only), but her stomach is cramping so hard she can't go back to sleep anyway. With all the sweating and crying and physically draining activities they've done, food becomes her priority.

It's a miracle that she can get out from under his arms without waking him, but she does and stands by the bed for a moment to amuse herself with the way he mumbles something in his sleep and gropes at her pillow for something to hold onto. She smothers a chortle in her throat at the way he hauls the pillow to his chest; wondering if he realizes he would've suffocated her if she had been in that pillow's place.

She's gone when he starts to snore again.

She's done with the buttons on Joel's shirt that she's stolen by the time she gets downstairs, pausing in her step in surprise when she finds Ellie awake and rifling through the kitchen cupboards. Bear barks at the sight of her, wagging his tail eagerly as Ellie turns to her in surprise. With an awkward smile, Tess steps into the kitchen, running her hand through Bear's fur when he comes sniffing at her.

"Good morning!" Ellie greets her cheerily, and Tess reciprocates a little more lackluster greeting. "You're up early. Joel's usually up first."

"Heh, yeah well the old man's a little tuckered out - driving and everything." Tess shrugs innocently when Ellie eyes her doubtfully, raising a brow at the girl, leaning against the kitchen counter and watching her. "I could say the same for you," she replies, tilting her head curiously when Ellie clambers onto the counter to get to the higher cupboards. "What're you doing, kid?"

"Looking for Bear's treats," the muffled reply comes through the cupboard, and Tess watches amused when Ellie stumbles back to her feet, proudly grasping a box of dog treats that Bear goes crazy at the sight off. "Joel says I'm making Bear fat and lazy, so I hide 'em away so Joel can't." The fourteen year old grins secretively at Tess, offering her a treat. "Wanna feed him? Go ahead - make him beg for it."

Cautiously Tess accepts the treat, eyeing the bone shaped snack that smells like dry biscuit and rawhide and dangles it just out of the drooling dog's reach. Bear makes low tortured sounds as he wriggles at her feet, slobbering on the floor that she knows Joel's going to be pissed about. So she dangles it longer.

"Bear." The stern sound of his name from her mouth makes the dog's butt plop heavily to the ground; sitting doesn't really stop his body from shaking from his wagging tail. He licks his chops frantically, twitching as she holds the treat midway, smirking. "Beg, boy."

The dog's flailing his paws in the air like a drunk boxer, and Tess lets herself torture the poor dog for another moment or two before she tosses the treat over, laughing under her breath at the way Bear devours it. As she's washing her hands in the sink (with running water that isn't rust brown and doesn't smell like ass), she asks Ellie if there's anything decent around the house to eat for breakfast.

"We've got eggs and bacon," Ellie tells her, leaning over the counter where Tess had been, watching the woman with a bright curiosity as Tess pulls open the fridge and rummages through what they have to eat. She's trying her best not to ask why Tess is wearing Joel's shirt, but it's what's hidden underneath the shirt that intrigues her mostly. Bent at such an angle, the collar of the shirt gapes just wide enough for Ellie to see the bite mark that she's last seen when it was fresh and an ugly red monster on the woman's pale skin.

She burns pink when Tess catches her staring, looking away guiltily and picking at her nails when she feels obligated to break the awkward silence. "Did it uh - does it - still hurt? I mean -." Her ears burn under Tess' sharp eyes, but the girl is calmed when Tess shrugs simply, touching the scar as if she's only just remembered it was there.

"Not unless you jab at it," she tells the girl, and it's mostly true. It also bugs the shit out of her when she sleeps on it (or like last night when Joel's arm crammed up against it), but Ellie doesn't need to know that. She sighs inwardly at the way Ellie's still staring at her like she's not sure if she's offended or not, so Tess pulls out the eggs and slides them over to her.

"You ever had bacon French toast before?"

* * *

He wakes up to a missing shirt and an empty bed. At first he thinks that it's all a dream that he's woken up from, but he still smells the scent of her skin on his sheets and there are marks on his body that prove to him that _yes, Tess is alive and she's here and she bit him hard enough to bleed._

She's also stolen his shirt.

It smells like something sweet and starchy and it's coming from downstairs. He doesn't realize how hungry he is until his stomach makes a very loud call to the scent, and Joel has to amble back over to the bathroom where his jeans are before finding the muscle shirt he's stolen from Tommy and makes his way downstairs.

He hears chattering from just around the corner of the kitchen, Ellie's high and excitable voice a sweet contrast to Tess' low, dulcet tone. Something's sizzling on the stove; he's pleasantly surprised to hear Tess laughing over the noise, even more so when he hears Ellie's own giggle follow suit. It puts a strange sensation in his chest; something warm and buoyant but thick and heavy at the same time. It's not something he can label just yet, so he doesn't.

He just rounds the corner into the kitchen and tries to keep his grouchy face on instead of smiling at the sight of Tess and Ellie hovering by the stove; a pile of what looks like French toast on a plate. There's another plate of bacon beside it, and when Bear barks at the sight of him, the girls turn around too.

"Joel, watch this!" Ellie exclaims, glancing from the man to Tess as she nudges the woman eagerly. "Do it again, Tess! Do it again!"

Tess laughs quietly but obliges the girl, lifting the pan in one hand and flipping the piece of toast sizzling in the pan with little effort. It's followed by Ellie's repetitive exclamation of 'cool!' and Joel's low chuckle and a slow clap that has Tess narrowing her eyes at him over her shoulder.

"Looks like we've got a chef on our hands," he quips, pouring himself a glass of orange-flavored water as Ellie eagerly presents him with a plate of French toast. They've mustered up some blueberries they've been growing in the backyard, and Joel has to smile at the little smiley face Ellie's decorated his breakfast in. "Thank you, baby girl." He forks a blueberry, popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. "Looks like we got ourselves an artist too."

Tess appears with a chortle and a plate of bacon, sliding the plate over to the man while Ellie happily circles the breakfast table, setting places for them both. "Bear, no!" The dog's making an attempt at the bacon, and Tess slaps him across the snout until his ear flatten in shame and the dog slinks off to sit around his own meal.

"You've barely been 'ere a day and you've got the damn dog whipped," Joel notes, both amused and perplexed and yet not really, because that's just what happens when Tess is in the picture. She's some sort of force you can't help gravitate to.

Tess smirks at him, sliding her hand along his bare arm as she comes around the counter. "Pretty sure by the end of the week, I'll have everyone in this house whipped." He can't think to deny the truth, and they both join Ellie at the table. He pulls out a seat for her out of habit - he's from Texas after all -, and seizes the chance to lean in to whisper in her ear as he's pushing her seat in for her.

"We're gonna need to discuss your little…shirt stealin' habits if this is gonna be a regular thing." He rubs the material of the collar between his fingers pointedly, but Tess is hardly repentant as she smacks his wandering fingers away before they can slip underneath the shirt.

"Looks better on me," she says simply, and dives into her breakfast. Joel shrugs as he plops down in his seat. It's true. Even if it's about two sizes too big and hangs down to her thighs - he can get used to seeing her in his clothes.

Ellie groans out loud then, her mouth full of Tess' culinary creation as she struggles to chew it all before she can speak without choking herself. "Shit, Tess, these are fuckin' delicious!" she cries, stabbing another piece and shoving it into her mouth before she's done with the other. The girl pretends not to hear Joel's low reproach about her language, beaming instead when Tess chuckles at her.

"They're pretty fuckin' great, if I do say so myself," the woman agrees, forking a piece for herself and smirking at Joel when he's glaring at her over the rim of his glass for encouraging Ellie. "You always were a shitty cook. Poor kid oughta learn what real home cooking tastes like."

Joel rolls his eyes dramatically at her, though his ears burn. He doesn't argue with them - the foodis pretty fuckin' delicious, but he's remembering a time where Sarah used to whine at him for burning the pancakes or overcooking the pasta. Give him a grill and some prime cuts and he'll barbecue them to perfection, but Joel knows diddly squat about what goes on in the kitchen.

For all their sakes, he doesn't think it wise to start learning now.

Ellie groans again, and Joel scowls at her. "Girl, people're gonna think you're turnin' or somethin'!"

"Or having an orgasm," Tess offers, popping another bite into her mouth. Damn though. It's pretty fucking delicious.

"What's an orgasm?"

Joel sighs heavily, casting a murderous glare at the woman. "Goddamn it, Tess."

* * *

It's when Tess and Ellie start wheedling Joel into doing the dishes that someone comes knocking at the front door, and Joel can just barely make out the person's voice over Bear's booming bellowing. _"__Hello in there! Where's the Alpha dog, Bear? Huh? Where's Joel?"_

The familiar voice throws Tess; she glances almost accusingly at Joel when he turns to her protectively out of instinct. "I'm gonna take a guess and say that Tommy thinks I'm rotting in the ground somewhere." It's a little bitter, but she can't stay angry at Joel for the way his hand spans across her stomach, pushing her behind him as they both walk down the hall.

The man's face is stubborn. "Yeah well, he got a problem with it - he takes it up with me. But you sure as hell ain't goin' nowhere."


	6. Chapter 6

Tommy's waiting at the front door, a lot older than she remembers; a lot more worn than the young and hopeful half-grown man she last acquainted herself with. He's smiling when he catches sight of Joel, but when he realizes his brother isn't alone, Tess sees the smile fade slowly and his eyes darken in shock at the sight of her.

She doesn't like the way he's cradling his rifle in his hands. "Joel, what the fuck?"

She reaches out as Ellie brushes against her, tugging the girl sharply to her when Tommy starts to lift his rifle at them. It's a reflex that comes from somewhere she can't understand, but Tess is placing herself in front of Ellie and nudging the girl back away from Tommy. The tension between the men is palpable; she doesn't presume to know how trigger-happy Tommy is, and she's really starting to hate that she's left her gun upstairs. She's letting her guard down and it's getting on her nerves.

She feels Ellie's hand gripping at her arm, and Tess glances down to find Ellie peering anxiously at her and Joel. They say nothing to each other - Tess doesn't really know how to reassure the girl and what for, but they know that the situation can get ugly.

Joel senses their discomfort, and he feels his temper boil dangerously at Tommy. "Put the goddamn gun away 'fore you hurt someone!" he snaps, glaring hard at his young brother when Tommy gapes at him incredulously. "Don't make me take it from you."

"You told me she died!" Tommy sputters, accusing and shrill as his mind rushes to process the fact that the woman Joel said had sacrificed herself for them - is standing behind his big brother, dressed in his shirt, he realizes. His eyes widen, and Joel's muscles coil apprehensively for what comes next. "You said she got bit -!"

"S-She's not infected!" Ellie blurts hurriedly, and Tess doesn't know if she's touched or annoyed at how eager the teen is at providing the information. "The Fireflies saved her, Tommy, she's not infected!" Her fingers sink into Tess' arm tighter; there's an almost chidlike manner in which the girl clings to the woman.

Joel moves, and it's to completely put himself in front of Tess and Ellie as he glares at his brother sternly. "Tommy, quit bein' a dumbass and put the goddamn gun down so we can talk!" He can't understand why Tommy's reacting like this - but then he remembers that not everything thinks of Tess the way he does. He's standing that much taller, that much more aggressively in front of them; a grizzly bear protecting his family, and Tess wonders if she can get him to growl like that again in her ear later tonight.

Tess is, however, getting tired of having people speak for her. "For fuck's sake, Tommy; if I haven't sprouted shit through my head by now, odds are I probably won't as soon as I see your stupid face," she snaps, and it seems to stun Tommy enough to knock some sense into him. He blinks hardly, looking very much like he did years ago; the oblivious smartass little brother she made fun of for tagging along with them.

"Holy shit," he breathes, staggering forward as the rifle falls limply to his side. "It's really you." Apparently that's all he needs to believe her - that she's the same old snarky Tess that didn't cut him any slack and called him out on his bullshit. Familiarity is some form of comfort for him; she hasn't changed at all.

She laughs humorlessly, making a show of sweeping the hand that isn't being clawed at by Ellie over her body. "In the flesh and in one piece, Tommy boy. And as you can see - spore-free."

It seems like Joel doesn't appreciate the joke as much as Ellie does, and the man once again has his large hand spanning across her stomach both possessively and protectively as he's manhandling her away with Ellie. Physically he backs her away from Tommy, glancing behind them briefly at Bear. "Why don't you girls uh…take Bear for a walk or somethin'. I got this," he murmurs to her, and Tess says nothing when his hand lingers on her body like he doesn't want to stop touching her.

As easy as it is to take offense at how Joel thinks she can't handle Tommy with one arm tied behind her back, for once Tess thinks it's best to let the boys settle their differences. It doesn't stop her from being a wiseass about it though. "I'm not wearing any pants."

Joel steals a glance at her legs for the hell of it, but scowls as he pushes them back into the kitchen. "Well you sure ain't strippin' me of mine." She smirks at him as she steps back, and Joel pokes her reproachfully in the rib. "Go on now and get some pants on while the boys talk."

Tess is still smirking when she goes, nudging Ellie away. "You heard Papa Bear, Ellie - get the dog's leash. We're goin' for a walk while the big boys play."

Sighing inwardly, Joel shakes his head at their disappearing backs (particularly Tess' sauntering hips) before he faces his brother again. He doesn't appreciate the fact that Tommy's watching her go too, and Joel reminds himself that it isn't the brotherly way to castrate him where he stands. Maria probably wouldn't appreciate it, but then again - she might help hold him down.

"Sit down, Tommy. We gotta talk about some things."

* * *

Ellie takes her around the block, Bear happily snuffles through the shrubs and marks his territory here and there while the girls amble along behind him. He's not on a leash, but then again he doesn't need to be - it's not like they have to worry about him getting into a fight with someone's yippy lapdog around the corner. So the giant beast is free to roam where he pleases, rounding back onto Ellie and Tess every once and awhile, as if to ensure that he hasn't lost his pack, before bounding off to chase some non-existent squirrel.

Tess takes in the scenery, trying her best to adjust to the fact that they're walking down the street of something akin to a suburban neighborhood without a soldier around every corner. Her Glock is tucked into her waistband though; just in case.

"So," she begins, as they find a pretty clearing through the trees and settles herself onto a fallen log. She smiles thinly at Ellie, watching as the girl tosses a stick some yards away that Bear goes bounding after. "How long have you been staying here?"

"Mm, 'bout five months, six maybe." Ellie smiles almost guiltily as she takes a seat beside Tess on the log. She stares at her hands, fiddles with a twig; does everything she can not to apologize to Tess for something they've not done. She doesn't know why she feels like she owes Tess so much - I mean she knows -, but it's strange to see someone she last remembers lying in a pool of her own blood, riddled in bullets…living, breathing, wearing Joel's shirt beside her.

Still, it doesn't stop her from being curious. "So uh…you and Joel…"

Tess's brow arches slowly on her forehead, she casts her eyes in a sidelong glance at the girl. "What about me and Joel?" she asks calmly; mostly because it amuses her to see Ellie trying to find a diplomatic way of asking if she and Joel are fucking.

"Are you guys…a couple now?" Ellie shrugs. "I mean - you guys are partners and stuff, but you're not in Boston anymore, so you kinda don't have to be partners anymore. Unless you want to, that is," she adds hurriedly, when Tess' brow arches dangerously again. "Joel's kinda the big boss of patrols out here - Tommy says the other guys are scared of him 'cause they've seen him take down runners and bandits and stuff."

Tess isn't at all surprised, but she is amused to think that Joel's grizzly attitude and prime skills has him walking around a lot like she used to back in Boston. People feared her, respected her out of fear; feared the aim she had. Didn't mean they weren't impressed - still are impressed.

"Joel used to have a lot of admirers back home too," Tess tells her, and Ellie tilts her head eagerly at the stories Tess seems ready to share about their old life. "Man like him, it's hard for them to figure out, y'know? He doesn't talk much, doesn't do much unless he has to - but when he's out there; survival of the fittest and all that? He's it. He's the fittest. One time we were running a drop-off; I wandered off too far. Wasn't paying attention - got lost. Got myself cornered by about five clickers-." She chuckles lowly at the memory, shaking her head as Ellie winces at the thought.

"I killed two of 'em, but ammo was low, and before I can brick another in the face, one of 'em beats me right across the face. Wham - bitchslap right in the jaw." She punches into her own fist; Ellie jumps at the sound of bone to skin.

"Almost got my head chewed off, if it wasn't for Joel." She smiles then, wistfully affectionate and impressed. It's not exactly the most normal memory to have, but it's one of Tess' fondest. "Guy walked up to all three of 'em - marched right up to those sons of bitches and clocked them right in the head with a baseball bat. Never seen anything like it." Tess shakes her head fondly. "I've never seen him so pissed at me either."

She smirks crookedly at Ellie, eyes sparkling with an unabashedly rebellious gleam. "He wouldn't talk to me for hours until we got back to home base." She doesn't tell the girl about what she had to do to get him to talk to her again - or about how it involved a certain amount of alcohol and a certain amount of spanking.

Ellie's opinion of the man verges hero-worship now. "Whoa. Joel's such a badass."

Tess has the decency to look offended. She shoves at the girl, scoffing indignantly. "Hey, I've saved his ass too many times to count - I don't see you making a shrine for me." A mini-jab fight ensues, and Tess eventually has Ellie giggling in a ball away from her tickling. There's squealing and shrieking and begging, and Tess can't remember the last time she's laughed so hard as she chases after Ellie when the girl makes a run for home.

By the time they get back, breathless and pink and still in the midst of laughter; Bear jumping about because he doesn't like being left out, Tommy's still there. And there's a woman over too.

There's something indecipherable on Joel's face when they stumble into the house; something she'll think about when there isn't a blonde woman touching him on the arm.

He clears his throat awkwardly, brushing aside the woman's hand. "Uh, Tess. This here is Maria; Tommy's wife." The dangerous look on Tess' flushed face lingers still. "We're havin' company for dinner, if that's alright with you. 'Bout time you met the in-laws anyway."


End file.
